My Skirt, Your Pants
by TFRiD Queen
Summary: A genderbend!Skyshipping. What starts out as a simple cross-dressing event quickly escalates into a journey of self-discovery, an appreciation of the other sex, and-oh hell, Yuma and Kotori get to experience their relationship from a very different perspective: the opposite one. Rating will increase with the chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello, boys and girls. It has been a while since I wrote a skyshipping fic, and although I am also concurrently working on determinationshipping too, I am afraid that if I don't write more skyshipping soon, I might go crazy. According to my poll, after Cathy x Takashi, the next up was...genderbend!skyshipping?! Well, like they say, ask and ye shall receive. Due to the nature of genderbends in general, this fic will be a little more crack-y and OOC than usual. Using Japanese names this time.

* * *

"I-I don't know, Kotori...m-maybe we should just forget about it..."

"What are you talking about Yuma? You already promised!"

"B-but...this...it's just..."

"_I see nothing wrong with you, Yuma. In fact, you look quite lovely."_

"Shut up Astral! Oh my god, this is so humiliating..."

"It is not! And don't forget, you're not the only one who's doing this—"

"—Yeah but _why_," he pulled the edges down as far as they would go but it wasn't very far, "am _I_ the one who has to wear this frickin' DRESS?!"

The girl, who had been putting the finishing touches on her stand-up collar, finally turned around and focused her attentions on the boy. "Well, I hate to say it, but you did lose the duel to Shark..." Kotori tugged her at her tie, which she had all but given up on tying correctly. "Look, if you can fix my tie, I'll try and find you some...shorts, or something, if you're going to be that bashful."

"I knew this was a bad idea, I should've just suggested something more normal, like, a Renaissance fair or hell, even a maid café—" Yuma continued muttering a mix of profanities and complaints as he effortlessly knotted the tie, honed from years of putting on a uniform five minutes before running out the door. "I mean seriously, why does this have to be so short?!" He tugged again at the lacy hem of the pink dress he was currently donning, a look of disdain across his face. "Is this even legal?" He glanced at Kotori, who was rolling up her pant legs—his pants, to be exact. "...It's not fair, girls can wear anything..."

He sighed. Curse him and his overzealousness; if he'd only managed to play that trap card one turn later, then it would be Shark who would be dealing with wearing a short, fluffy piece of pink fabric, instead of him. Perhaps he shouldn't have even brought up the ante in the first place, but the girls had demanded that at least one of the boys wear that atrocious pink...thing, and since Yuma and Shark were the only two who hadn't already chosen an outfit, they decided to duke it out.

"_You know Yuma, since this is all to help your school raise funds for the class trip, you may as well try and enjoy it," _Astral chided gently, noting the increasing tension between the two teens. _"At the very least, it is for a good cause, no?"_

"I suppose..." Yuma grumbled as Kotori finally found some kind of biking shorts (short, black, and tight) for him. He hurried back behind the curtain, reminding himself not for the last time, that after this event was over, it would all be worth it.

_Kaibaland_. That word alone was enough to send the class into a frenzy, and Mr. Kitano had to wait several minutes before everyone calmed down enough to provide further details about their annual class field trip. In the past, it had been mostly to cultural or educational places, such as Neo Domino city's museum on ancient civilizations or a visit to the island where Duel Academy stood. Not that those weren't exciting, but Kaibaland! It had been the penultimate creation of Seto Kaiba, arguably one of the most important figures in the world of Duel Monsters, next to Yugi Muto and Mr. Pegasus himself. A theme park dedicated entirely to Duel Monsters, complete with retro duel stadiums where solid-vision holograms were still used, a turbo duel racetrack, and of course, the rides themselves. Heartland's own theme park gave it a good run for its money, but there was no trumping the original. The only caveat with this incredible announcement was the cost; even with the mandatory trip fee, the cost of transport and staying overnight alone were extravagantly high.

Thinking back, it was probably mostly his fault; eager to prove himself as the new class rep, he blabbed out the first thing that came to mind: winning the school-wide club fair competition, and using funds that would've been towards the club for the trip instead. It wasn't like they needed it, since the club was really just a front for helping Astral anyway. As most of the Numbers Club were in the same class, it would be logical for them to try and win; so when he mentioned off-handedly that something outrageous like cross-dressing probably stood a better chance, he'd only been joking.

No amount of anime or manga could've prepared him for the response he got.___  
_

___– – – – – –_

"_Ack! Guys, c-calm down, I was just jok—" Yuma covered his ears as the shrill squealing of girls mixed with howls of laughter from the boys. He tried to quiet the class down, but to no avail; next to him, Mr. Kitano only shrugged and gave him a resigned smile._

"_Ohmygod, that's be awesome! Can you imagine how cute Yuma would look in a skirt?"_

"_No way, Shark would make one hot girl!"_

"_I'd pay money to see that! Inchou as a chick!"_

"_A-actually, I think Queen Rio would be a pretty cool King..." The entire class fell silent and turned to stare at the speaker. "Wh-what, I'm just saying..."_

_Yuma was beginning to panic slightly; he hadn't been serious at all with the idea of cross-dressing, but now it was starting to look as if they didn't have much of a choice. Laughing sheepishly, he slowly turned his head towards his fellow club members, none of whom looked as happy as the rest of the class. In fact, he swore Tetsuo was making a cutting gesture under his neck, and Takashi was decidedly looking anywhere but at him. Only Cathy seemed to be excited, but he couldn't tell if she was excited to dress him up or maul him._

"_I have a question: how is cross-dressing going to help us win? The fair isn't a cosplay contest, it's about the club that comes up with the most unique and successful event." Yuma was relieved Kotori managed to get everybody back on track. Unfortunately, she also brought up a good point; cross-dressing was a potent weapon, but there was no point if they couldn't wield it..._

_Cathy finally broke the silence. "U-uh, nyan, I have an idea...maybe...we could do some sort of fashion makeover? Only instead, if the client wants to, they can choose to dress up as the opposite gender, nya..." Several of the students started muttering amongst themselves, and slowly the pieces began to fall into place._

"_That could work...but where would we get the clothes from? It doesn't make sense to spend money to win money."_

"_Well, I could loan several of my outfits..." Cathy blushed and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Aside from the Numbers Club, few people knew of her gothic lolita hobby, but if it was for the good of the trip, she would be willing to let it go..._

"_Maybe the rest of the class could help donate some of their own clothes as well?" Taking out his d-pad, Takashi started taking down names of students who were willing to volunteer outfits. "We can also use this to keep track of what types of clothes and accessories we have as well. To summarize, if we all work together, surely we can get enough!"_

_The rest of the plan solidified shockingly fast after that. Before the end of the day, it was decided that although only the Numbers Club would be participating in the actual cross-dressing and fair, the rest of the class would help out with providing clothes and other items. Several girls came by Yuma's desk and volunteered to pick out his outfit, much to Kotori's annoyance. As the class representative though, he could only smile and feign interest, until Kotori 'accidentally' elbowed one of them in the face. They got the hint and left him alone after that._

"_Uh, I guess I'll leave my outfit in your fashionable hands then..." Yuma muttered after watching the girls reluctantly skulk away, one of them rubbing her cheek and shooting Kotori a nasty glare (which was returned with equal fervor)._

"_Don't worry Yuma, you'll be in good hands..." His girlfriend gave him a too-wide smile, and Yuma could only wonder what exactly he had gotten himself into..._

_____– – – – – –_

"Oy, Yuma, you're not going to hide in the dressing room all day, are ya?" Tetsuo's booming voice echoed through the flimsy curtain, and Yuma nearly dropped the shorts in shock.

"H-hang on, Tetsuo, I'm almost done..." Surrendering himself to the inevitable, he took a deep breath and thrust the curtains aside. Testuo and Takashi had been talking quietly amongst themselves, but when Yuma cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped out, their voices immediately died down. "Wh-what, I know this looks totally ridiculous, but—"

"—Whoa, Kotori really worked her magic on you, Yuma." Takashi blinked, as if not quite believing what he was seeing. He himself was currently laced up in some bizarre contraption of Cathy's, but Yuma...

"No no, what we mean is, well, don't take this the wrong way, but..." Tetsuo looked around nervously, which only made Yuma more uneasy.

"...Well, then spit it out already! You're making me nervous; do I look like a moron or what?!" He rubbed his arms, trying to ignore the goosebumps that were popping up. The dress wasn't exactly the warmest thing ever, and he'd lacked the foresight to bring any outerwear.

Both guys shared a look, before turning to face their friend. "Now Yuma, just take this as a compliment—"

"—Really, we're not making fun of you or anything—"

"—or insulting your manhood—"

"but—"

"—well—"

"Wow Yuma, is that really you? I would've thought you were his twin sister, if I didn't already know your sister," Tokunosuke strolled in just as Tetsuo and Takashi were about to break the news to Yuma in the least painful way possible. Parading around in a long white dress and brown wig, he looked exactly like the girl from the prank video mail he first sent Yuma.

"Um. Well." That was rather...unexpected. He had been afraid of becoming the laughing stock of the entire eighth grade class, but now it seemed there were other things he should be afraid of...

Namely, how shockingly convincing he looked as a girl.

"_I did say that you looked quite lovely," _Astral commented off-handedly, reading Yuma's thoughts. He floated out of the way as Yuma peered at his own reflection in the mirror, reaching for his own image as if to convince himself that this was real. Hair tied into high twintails, clad in a delicate pink sundress with more lace and ribbons than a birthday present, and complete with just a hint of makeup to bring out a more feminine shape to his face. Yes, Yuma Tsukumo was really something else, or rather, some_one_ else. He stared at himself for a few more minutes, before jumping back with a most un-characteristic shriek, hands covering his eyes.

"Oh god, crap, I can't believe it! I look...so..._girly!_" He wailed and bemoaned his fate at some length, until Tetsuo steered him into a chair and made him sit down. "Testuo, tell me, why am I doing this again?" The other boy shifted uncomfortably, he himself already not too keen on wearing the jean cut-offs and cropped t-shirt his sister had forced him into, but at that moment he was silently thanking whatever gods were up there that he wasn't in Yuma's position.

"I hate to rub it in Yuma, but this was your idea in the first place, remember?"

"And also," their former class president added, "you had that bet with Shark, and well, you just happened to lose..."

That bet. That stupid bet. Actually, it was really the girls' fault for adding that condition, but currently all he could think of was how unfair it was that Shark had gotten away by the skin of his teeth.

___– – – – – –_

_The normally-stoic upperclassman literally spat his drink out, causing his sister to yell something about "say it don't spray it", but he didn't even hear her. Rather, he was repeating Yuma's words inside his head, unwilling to believe what he had just signed them up for._

_'Oh, but don't worry, I asked Mr. Kitano and he said you guys can come too!'_

_No wait, before that._

_'And well, I think we can really win this thing and go to Kaibaland...'_

_Just rewind a little more..._

_'So, uh, the class decided we would be cross-dressing...'_

"_What. What the hell are you trying to pull Yuma, I swear, if you're doing this just to troll me—" Yuma gulped and shrunk back slightly as Shark approached him menacingly, his eyes aglow with a dangerous fire. _

"_Ryoga! Calm down, weren't you listening to him?" Rio managed to restrain her twin before he could carry out his plan of murdering Yuma. She couldn't stop him from glaring and muttering curses at the poor boy, though._

"_All right, fine, I admit it I should've asked you guys first before I said anything but c'mon, it's Kaibaland! Aren't you even just a little bit excited?" Yuma threw his hands up in exasperation, frustrated that nobody seemed to be on his side. Well, except maybe Astral. And Rei. The new transfer student was so enamored with him that Yuma was convinced that he could tell him to go walk off a cliff and he'd do it, with a smile to boot. _

_The rest of the club members, including the honorary ones, tittered about uneasily, except for the girls; they had formed their own little circle and were now whispering excitedly amongst themselves. Yuma couldn't quite hear what they were talking about, but he caught more than one glance in his direction, and a few words such as "pink" and "fluffy" slipping out. He gulped silently, the uneasy feeling in his stomach growing deeper. _

_Seemingly oblivious to the heavy tension in the room, Rei slid across the desk next to Yuma, hands clasped behind his head as he leaned in towards their leader. "So, what's the plan? Are we really gonna do this, Tsukumo?" Their leader responded by planting his head into the desk. Rei sweatdropped and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, I'm totally up for it, if that makes you feel any better. I don't know about the rest of you, but I wanna go to Kaibaland! I mean, it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip! Think positive, you guys!" _

"_That's great for you, Shingetsu, but you don't exactly speak for the rest of us," Shark jabbed a finger at himself and the rest of the guys, all of whom were trying to avoid looking directly at Yuma. "And I don't care if the prize is to Kaibaland, or even Duelist Kingdom, I am NOT—"_

"—_Hold on there Ryoga, you may speak for the guys, but don't forget us girls!" Rio cut her brother off as she, Kotori and Cathy scattered themselves back into the fold again. "Frankly, we think it's a pretty genius idea, and we'd be more than willing to participate...right, girls?" She winked at Cathy and Kotori, who each sported a mischievous grin. _

_The air suddenly felt chilly, and Yuma shivered unconsciously. Still, he'd take what support he could get, regardless of the consequences; he'd just have to hope his gamble wouldn't come back to haunt him later. "Yeah, I mean, if you've got a better idea, I'd love to hear it, Shark. Besides, if you really don't want to do this, then I guess I'll just have to tell Mr. Kitano that you won't be coming—"_

"_All right, sheesh, stop making me out to be the villain already!" Shark rolled his eyes in disgust, though secretly he was excited at the prospect of visiting Kaibaland. He'd never admit it to anyone though, except maybe Rio. After Shark surrendered, Tetsuo and the rest of the boys grudgingly agreed, more so after Kotori pointed out that they didn't all have to wear skirts or dresses._

"_Girls wear pants too, you know," was what she'd said after Tetsuo started complaining about where to find said clothes. Next to him, Takashi was trying to decide on whether to bother someone to borrow clothes or to simply buy some cheap ones, as he did not have the luxury of having a sister._

"_U-um, Takashi, if you don't mind, I could let you borrow some of mine...I think we're about the same height, so it should be okay, nya..." Cathy giggled nervously as she imagined what Takashi would look like in lolita. _

"_Oh, really Cat-chan? Well, I'd hate to impose, but if it's okay with you, that would definitely save me a lot of trouble!" Cathy blushed even harder and mumbled something about them being friends, twirling her hair into a tangled knot. _

_Meanwhile, Rei was chatting with Tokunosuke about which outfits they'd show up in, Tetsuo was regretting having even called his sister in the first place, and Shark was trying not to listen to Rio's suggestions, which were getting more risqué by the minute._

"—_oh wait, remember that cute skirt I got that time on vacation? We could pair that with my bikini—"_

"—_Excuse me?! Bikini?!" Shark blanched, trying decide which was worse: the fact that his sister owned a bikini top or the fact that she wanted to see him in it. "Look Rio, just let me choose my own clothes, okay?" He shook his head and wandered towards the other end of the room, ignoring the face his sister was now making at him. Interestingly enough, Yuma had not brought up the subject of wearing his sister's clothes, but rather, he and Kotori were in a heated discussion..._

"—_nuh uh Kotori, no way, no how—"_

"—_but I haven't heard you make any suggestions, and I think you'd look cute..."_

"_Wow Kotori, I hadn't realized your secret hobby was to cross-dress me," Yuma folded his arms across his chest, with Kotori pouting and making puppy-dog eyes at him (which he was trying very hard to avoid). Shark smirked, somewhat glad that he wasn't the only one being pushed around. At that moment however, their eyes met, and a spark seemed to shoot through the air._

"_Wait, what about Shark?" There was a bit of a feverish gleam in Yuma's eyes, and it suddenly occurred to Shark that maybe listening to Rio would've been a better idea._

_Kotori peered curiously at him over Yuma's shoulder. "Hmm, Shark? Maybe...I think it could work, if we make a few adjustments..." her gaze panned up and down, making Shark incredibly self-conscious. _

"_Say Shark, buddy, you wanna do me a favor...?" Yuma slid up to the sullen boy, a forced smile plastered on his face. "You haven't decided on what to wear yet, have you?"_

_Yes. Say yes. "No, I haven't..." Unfortunately Shark was rather incapable of lying to people he cared about, Yuma included. The grin seemed to grow wider and Shark wished he'd lied and said yes._

"_Oh, well, in that case, do I have the perfect outfit for you—" Yuma turned around and tapped something into his d-pad, before shoving the image in front of Shark's face. "Ta-da! I think you'd look fabu—err, really good in this!"_

_The image loaded and showed a nice picture of Kotori wearing a lacy pink sundress, smiling into the camera. "Uh, nice photo, I guess..." His voice died as the puzzle clicked and he blinked, stared hard, and then stared at Yuma some more. "Oh no; no no no, no way in hell Yuma, she's your girlfriend, it doesn't even make sense for me to wear this!"_

"_Pleeeeaaaase! I don't want to wear it either, but Kotori's not going to rest until one of us wears it!" Yuma was now clinging to Shark's arm like an oversized octopus, but no amount of shoving could remove him. "I promise I'll make it up to you later, I swear, when we get to Kaibaland you can cut in front of me on all the rides—"_

"_Gah! What part of 'no' don't you understand, Tsukumo?!" Shark growled irritably, but Yuma refused to let go. "Fine! How about this, if I beat you in a duel, will you wear it and leave me alone?"_

_The word "duel" snapped Yuma out of his trance, and he let go, immediately reaching for his deck. By this time, the rest of the club had formed a circle around the two, and there were even whispers of a bet circling the group. Both duelists faced each other, a deadly serious expression on both their faces._

"_You're on, Shark. Just don't come crying to me when you're all dressed in pink!" Yuma set his d-gazer and shuffled his deck in._

"_Don't you mean you?" Shark sneered and drew his hand; with this much on the line, there was no way he was going to lose._

"_Let's DUEL!"_

_____– – – – – –_

"Well, it _was _a pretty close duel," Takashi mused, as Yuma continued sulking in the chair. Both duelists were neck-and-neck until the very end, when Shark summoned out Black Ray Lancer and, without any traps to stop him, obliterated what was left of Yuma's lifepoints. Humiliated, but a man of his word, Yuma very reluctantly agreed to wear Kotori's dress, much to Shark's delight. "A deal is a deal," he reminded the other duelist when the fluffy pink garment was thrust into his arms, a rare grin on his face.

Outside, the commotion seemed to be increasing, especially as the chatter grew closer and closer to the makeshift dressing room that had been hastily set up in their homeroom. A flurry of footsteps and one mad dash later, Shark burst into the room and then proceeded to override the door's lock to manual, much to the guys' bewilderment. As soon as the indicator light switched from green to red, he heaved a sigh and slumped to the floor, before noticing everyone's eyes on him. "Wh-what, trust me, if you had the amount of, of _crazy people_ that I had chasing after you, you'd be doing the same thing!" He had fought tooth and nail with Rio over his choice of clothing, but in the end, he managed to convince her that wearing skinny jeans and her paisley boho-top were more than feminine enough for him. Especially since it was a _low-cut_ top; whether or not a bra was needed had been the subject of another argument that caused their parents to think a war had erupted in their house. Somehow Shark had also managed to wrestle his way out of that situation as well, but he had a feeling Rio was already planning her revenge.

"So, uh, what's going on out there anyway? We've been spending all morning trying to get _this_ guy," Tetsuo jerked his head in Yuma's direction, "to come out of the dressing room."

Shark turned his gaze on said boy and nearly did a double-take. The outfit was to be expected of course, but what was most surprising was how..._cute _the overall effect was. After seeing the results for himself however, he could sympathize with Yuma's reluctance to go out and face the crowd. "You, uh, look...you look very convincing." Honesty was a good policy, but maybe not here; Yuma probably would not appreciate being told that he looked just like a girl. "Anyway, you should know that Kotori's looking for you all over; it's your turn to help out at the booth."

Yuma groaned and closed his eyes; the last thing he wanted to do was to be put on display as if he were some kind of freak, but they certainly weren't going to win if they didn't give 110% percent. Not to mention he was the one who suggested the idea in the first place, and he was not about to be labeled as someone who was all bark and no bite. The rest of guys followed him out in a single file as he shuffled slowly out the door, being careful to avoid the hordes of students who were very keen on catching their new Inchou in his new "makeover" on camera.

At least, he thought he was being careful...

"_Yuma, I think somebody is coming right towards you in this direction—!"_ Astral warned in vain as Yuma whipped his head around, only to bump into Kotori's friend Sachi, who just happened to have a camera in hand.

"Ow, sorry abo—omigod Yuma, is that you?!" Sachi shrieked, excited that she had found their elusive class president after searching the entire schoolyard. "Hey Sei, I think I found him!"

"Sshh, no, keep it down—"

"Guys guys, there he is!" A faint roar started off in the distance, which quickly swelled into a wave of thunderous footsteps as the entire eighth grade student body poured down the narrow hallway. It was almost like one of those classic movie scenes where the enemy soldiers charged down the mountainside, only unlike the heroes of said movie, their little band had nowhere to go, except a desperate dive out the windows. Luckily it was on the ground floor, but Yuma still winced as he fell on his knees, narrowly dodging out of the way before Tetsuo made his landing. Behind them, clicks and flashes could be heard as students shoved and elbowed each other for the best position to take photos.

"Quick, to the booth!" They made a sprint for the little tent-and-table space that had been set aside for their club, just as Kotori was coming out.

"What the—Yuma, there you are! I've been looking all over!" Kotori scolded as she took in her boyfriend's appearance—twintails loosened, a scuff mark on the dress, (it had to be her _favorite_ dress), leading to a disheveled look overall. "_Yuma_," she hissed through her teeth, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention, "_what did you do to my dress?_"

"Oh come on, like it's my fault every single person's trying to stalk me like pepperoni—"

"—you mean _paparazzi?_" She intoned sarcastically while fixing the hair ties that had come loose, and wiping the sweat off his face.

"Whatever, you know what I mean. Ow, be more gentle," Yuma whined as Kotori yanked his hair back up, perhaps a little more harshly than usual to signify her discontent with the state of her beloved dress.

"Deal with it, you're the ringleader after all. How do you think the rest of the club members would feel if they saw you moping about?" Putting the brush away, she gave him one last sweep with her eyes, before ushering him out to the front of the booth. "Now remember, our goal is help as many students as we can, so put on your best behavior!"

"But I'm not into fashion! I don't know what to say!" Yuma whispered back vehemently, dreading the task of greeting his fellow peers dressed like _that—_and then trying to convince them that they'd look fabulous with a makeover.

Several students had already gathered around the front, some trying to peek behind the curtain to sneak a glance at their ever-elusive president, while others were mildly interested in what their booth had to offer. Aside from Kotori, Rio and Cathy were already putting together outfits, and had left Shark and Takashi to attempt to control the line. "You've already got Shark and Takashi, what'd you need me out there for?!" Seeing his friends already on the job, he tried to squirm back into the recesses of the tent but Kotori, with the help of Tetsuo, forcibly dragged him to the front.

"Relax Yuma, you're really just here to be a pretty face and represent our club. The girls are the ones who'll be actually giving advice," Shark casually mentioned as he noticed Yuma's look of disdain.

"...So basically, you're saying I'm just here to lure in the crowd."

Shark shrugged. "Well, would you rather be giving fashion advice? Actually, I take that back—anyone who'd listen to you would probably come out looking like some kind of vagrant clown."

"_What—_I dress pretty good, thank you very much—"

"—If you're talking about dressing _well_, please remember I still have those pictures of you in that crazy eighties-rock-getup with the fur coat—"

"—Oh yeah, wasn't there that time you showed up in that bee costume or something too?" Tokunosuke chimed in as he ushered another student behind the curtain for their "consultation". Yuma could only glare at the shorter boy as he brushed past them.

"Um, excuse me, but would you be able to help me...?" A female second-year had approached the booth, and Yuma rushed back out to the front. He was nervous as all hell, but if this is what it took to go to Kaibaland, then so be it. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath, and put on his best smile.

"Yes! What can we do for you today?" Inwardly he cringed, not used to having to act so...perky. Above him, he could hear Astral's faint snorts of laughter at his uncharacteristic behavior.

[Thanks for your support, Astral.]

The alien only managed to contain his laughter slightly; the sight of his partner trying to act like a female was simply too much for him to take in. _[I apologize Yuma, but I am very impressed by your acting skills. You are actually more convincing than I had thought possible.]_

The boy sank even deeper into self-pity, if that was even possible. The student, noticing Yuma's sudden change in mood, thought she had inadvertently offended him. "O-oh, I-I mean, if you're busy, I wouldn't want to waste your time..."

"Huh—oh no, of course not, Miss...er..."

"Rie Yamatani. You can call me Rie though, Yuma." She giggled nervously and fluttered her eyelashes, both of which were entirely ignored by Yuma.

"Right! So, Miss Rie, what's your, er, problem?" Crap. He was fast running out of things to blab on about and this girl didn't look like she was going anywhere soon. Didn't Shark say he was just supposed to be their mascot, and not actually give any advice? Where were the girls anyway...

Speaking of girls, the client, Rie, seemed taken aback by his question. "My problem? Well, isn't this booth advertised as 'the one to solve all your fashion problems, complete with a makeover'?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and Yuma gave a fake laugh, though he was sweating bullets. "This _is_ the Style Savvy: Trendsetters booth run by the Numbers Club, isn't it? Or was I mistaken somehow?"

"O-of course! Our fashion advisors will be with you moment...arily..." Suddenly his back was against the wall as this Rie chick came around the front and leaned in towards him, her face distressingly close to his as she smiled rather creepily.

"Oh, but, I'd rather wear something put together by _you_, Yuma..."

Yuma wasn't quite sure what Rie really wanted, but he knew he'd had enough. Especially when his personal space was being invaded by some pushy hag who clearly had no sense of smell, given how he was nearly choking on the nauseating amount of perfume in the surrounding air. Throwing his 'feminine' persona aside for a minute, he shoved her rather harshly out the booth, despite Rie's protests.

Just as Cathy and Kotori walked back out.

"Oh my—Yuma, what are you doing?" Kotori nearly shrieked as she caught sight of Yuma practically manhandling a valued client. The girl, catching sight of the two, nearly bowled the them over as she ran over, wiping her tears(?) and complaining loudly. "Uh, Cathy, why don't you help her out, and I'll find out what's going on..." For some reason the girl immediately stopped crying afterwards, but at the moment Kotori neither noticed nor cared.

Marching over to the front, she first put Shark on receptionist duty before dragging her boyfriend to the dressing room in the back. "All right Yuma, if you really didn't want to be the host, you could've said so instead of taking it out on our guests!"

"I—hey, don't get mad at me, I was the victim here! Astral, back me up, you saw what happened, didn't you?"

"_You mean when this Rie girl forcibly pushed herself up against you and—"_

"She did WHAT?!"

"—okay, it's not as bad as it sounds, she was just being pushy—"

"—_I believe this behavior is known as 'flirting' among you humans—"_

"—I'm going to kill that bitc—"

"—so I got sick of it and told her to leave and then you and Cathy just came back at the wrong moment! Why are we yelling anyway?" Yuma panted, quite breathless after trying to shout over two other people.

"Oh Yuma...if I'd known this was cause so many...complications, I wouldn't have put you in that dress...even if you do look good in it." She snuck a sideways glance at him, blushing slightly.

Yuma groaned and slumped into a chair. "Why did I come up with this stupid...retarded...idea in the first place? Pretending to be a girl sucks." He hadn't meant it in a mean way, but after all that had happened so far, it slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Excuse me? You think you have it tough? You're not even a girl, what do you know about being one?" Kotori bristled slightly at his insensitive remark.

"I don't need to be one, I can tell just by acting like one." Yuma shot back. Which was exactly the wrong kind of comment to make.

"Oh really...I bet you'd never survive being a girl for even a day! You boys have it way too easy if you ask me." Although the uniform had been impeccably washed and ironed just for today's events, Kotori could already feel the tie coming loose again, and she was getting tired of having to stoop over and roll up her pant legs every five minutes. She was never going to tell Yuma that his clothes were giving her trouble, though.

"I—that's not true! There's...well...guys don't have it as easy as you think either!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

Kotori's expression remained deadpan. "Uh huh. Well, let me know the next time you get terrible stomach pains, or find people staring at your butt, or trying to grope—"

"—I—damn, er..." Yuma faltered, his argument growing weaker as he desperately searched his mind for something that plagued guys but not girls. He wasn't having much luck, though.

"Whatever. We don't have time to argue about who has it worse, girls or boys. Unless you actually experience it, there's no way you'd believe me." Kotori dragged Yuma back out, closing the door with a hurried slam.

Neither of them noticed a card which fluttered to the ground from the wind, landing on the tiles with a faint glow.

* * *

A/N: UGH. I. Am. So. Tired. Just to give you a brief insight into how extremely busy I have been since the year started, I began writing this fic back at the end of January. It is now halfway through March, and I've finally been able to to complete _one_ chapter. Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but this will likely be my schedule for a while; please, please _**please**_ understand that I have no intention of abandoning any of my fics (this includes KEIKAKU), but know that my real-life responsibilities will come first, regardless of how long it has been since I last updated.

_**PSST, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN MY RL STATUS YOU CAN ALWAYS FOLLOW ME ON TUMBLR, HINT HINT...**_

Anyway, onto more fun stuff. I added Rei and Rio in there, because by now most people I wager will know about ZEXAL II, and it's fun to write about new characters. I'm really trying to keep Yuma more in-tune with his characterization, so I tried to really make him be silly and eager, and always willing to try new things. Right now I have this story rated T because the set-up is pretty innocuous, but after things really get rolling, let's just say, well, it _has_ been a while since I wrote a lemon...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Okay, switching from determinationshipping → drawing art → back to this fic. Also, when I started writing this fic, we hadn't known that Rei was evil yet, so I made him slightly herp-a-derp. Since this fic is going to be pretty herp-a-derp anyway.

* * *

_'Boy, Tsukumo sure is tight with that girlfriend of his, Mizuki what's-her-name—Kotona? Kotori?'_ Rei hummed quietly to himself as he strolled around the campus, oblivious to the copious amounts of female attention he was attracting. After some thought, he had settled on a pair of denim hot pants (which were cooler than he'd thought) and a strappy camisole. There was absolutely nothing similar to what he was wearing back in the Barian World, so he could only guess based on what he assumed to be fashion magazines poached from the school's library. _'Despite not being a duelist, she has an unusually strong bond with Yuma...which could be problematic... Luckily for me, I've got my secret weapon—wait, what the—'_ His hands reached for his pockets, only to realize that they were quite empty. "Oh shit, where'd it go?!" Damn it, he'd just managed to wrestle the card from Alit after smashing his face into the concrete, and now it was missing.

"Um, e-excuse me, but could I take a picture of you?" Rei's head snapped up and he put on an innocent smile for the girl in question, who promptly blushed.

"Of course, I don't mind at all! Think positive!" He flashed his signature peace-out pose along with a winning smile. It was a wonder the girl didn't faint while taking the picture. _'Drat, these humans sure are annoying, what with their strange habits and all...still, must keep up the disguise while we're gathering intel...'_

After posing for a few more pictures, followed by listening to the love-struck declarations of more than one girl (and a guy), Rei was more than ready to bail. Partly because he wasn't sure how long he could last against this onslaught of undesirable flattery, but he was also seriously getting concerned about the fate of his hard-earned, secret weapon that was disguised as a children's card game. Untangling himself as nicely as he could from the iron-grip of one particularly enthusiastic student, he gave a small pout, gave some excuse about having to check in with the rest of the club, and bolted as soon as he turned the corner.

"My god, I thought I was never going to get out of there alive..." Huffing, the Barian-in-disguise snuck back into the classroom where he was last holed up. "And it is hopefully around...here..._yes!_" There on the ground was the card he'd been panicking over this whole time, somehow miraculously without a scratch or tear on it. Pocketing it carefully this time, he felt a strange jolt in the air as soon as his fingers touched the paper, but it was very slight and over before he could get a concrete reading.

_'Strange. It feels slightly different than when I first had it...almost weaker, somehow...'_ He couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong however, and it didn't seem like the card had been damaged. _'Oh well, I guess if anything happens I can just blame it on Alit.' _Just then his d-gazer rang, and he forced the misgivings out of his mind.

"Yo Shingetsu, where'd you go? You're shift's coming up, and if you don't get your skinny little butt back here in the next five minutes, Kotori's going to blow a gasket." Shark's annoyed face popped up on the screen, clearly not pleased with having been assigned the menial task of playing secretary. In the background noise, he could faintly hear Yuma's voice complaining to someone about something, though he couldn't make out a response. Best head back to the booth before his cover was blown, he decided.

"Roger that, Kamishiro. By the way, don't scowl so much or you'll scare away all the customers~" Rei mockingly blew a kiss into the screen, much the other boy's disgust.

"Che—whatever. Just hurry up." The screen went blank and Rei really did run for the booth this time, not wanting to make Shark even more suspicious of him.

– – – – – –

The sun was hanging low in the sky by the time they'd managed to clean up their space. Exhausted, sweaty, and more than ready to call it day, Yuma tiredly stacked the last storage box into the classroom's closet and shut the door. Everything had been more-or-less a blur after him and Kotori's little spat, and he'd barely managed to avoid throwing another fit as more fans of his found their way to the booth (luckily he had the guys to back him up this time). Amazingly, their concept had struck a chord with the majority of the student body, as Tokunosuke mentioned that, after scouting around the other clubs' offerings, that they seemed to have the most traffic for the duration of the day. The official tally wouldn't be available until the next Monday, but he seemed fairly confident that that the Numbers Club had this one in the bag.

_'Well I would hope so, given all the crap I had to put up with today...'_ Yuma thought grumpily to himself. If they managed to lose by a hair, he was never going to forgive himself for coming up with this idea in the first place. None of the girls seemed put-out by their position, though he had a feeling the guys had only begrudgingly put up with it because of the prospect of Kaibaland dangling in their faces.

"_Try not to look so sour Yuma, by my observations your group did extraordinarily well,"_ Astral complemented gently. Truth be told, he had been much more interested in the countless new observations that were added to his inner notebook, but he refrained from mentioning this aspect to his partner. Especially the parts that involved female-male interactions; although greatly humorous from his perspective, from the looks on Yuma and Kotori's faces, neither had enjoyed the attention very much. _'I suppose even a patient girl like Kotori will have her limits...'_

"Oh come on Yuma, you aren't still upset over that comment I made, are you?" Sliding the door shut, Kotori wiped her sweaty bangs off her forehead, no longer caring that her borrowed uniform was conveniently sliding off her shoulder and exposing her camisole. It was hot, she was tired, and all she really wanted was a shower. Most of the heavy lifting had been taken care of by the guys, but as soon as the bare minimum was done, the majority of the club found convenient excuses to take off—"sorry, but my sis wants her clothes back ASAP/oh hey, I need to get home in time for dinner/c'mon Rio, we're going to be late...for...something"—leaving her and Yuma with just Cathy and Takashi, and that new transfer kid, Rei Shingetsu.

He was an...intriguing kid, to say the least. So far Kotori hadn't sensed any ill-will from him, though she was rather unnerved at the way he seemed to be so attached to Yuma. _'I'm not sure if he just wants to bask Yuma's glory, or his attention...'_ A sudden pang of fear and jealously stabbed her chest as she re-ran those last words in her head. _'Wait a minute, don't tell me he's—well he'd better not try anything funny, or he'll get it...'_ Not that she cared about others' sexual orientations, but Yuma was already taken, and if her various displays during the day hadn't made it sufficiently clear, then they were going to have some problems.

"Hey boss, where should I put these?" Speak of the devil... Kotori quickly plastered a smile on her face before Rei turned around.

"Oh, just on the top shelf is fine. I think Mr. Kitano will take care of the final details when he comes in on Monday." The boy shrugged and slipped the box up easily, despite its hefty contents. He gave a sheepish smile at Kotori's questioning glance, shrugging helplessly.

"Ah ha ha, I've been told that I'm stronger than I look..."

"I...see..." She noticed Astral giving her the same curious glance as well, but refrained from pushing the subject. As long as he wasn't doing anything, she supposed there was no point in working herself up over a gut feeling.

Just then the door opened and Takashi staggered in, followed by an equally haggard-looking Cathy. Both of them finally manged to track down every item of donated clothing, followed by sorting them by owners. Cathy had long given up on making her headdress stay in place, and Takashi's dress looked like a bizarre attempt at bondage.

"Well, that's the last of them. Every article has been inventoried by owner, and can be picked up next week—to summarize, we somehow managed to get everything back," Takashi sighed with relief, thanking his lucky stars that they didn't have to deal with lost or, even worse, damaged clothing.

Cathy handed two bags over to Yuma and Kotori. "Here, you two can take them home today. They aren't any worse for wear, although you probably want to run them through the wash as soon as you can."

"Thanks a bunch Cat-chan, and you too, Takashi," Yuma clapped them both on the shoulder, grateful for friends like them. "Oh, and Rei, you didn't have to stay the whole time, you know?"

"Aw, it's no big deal Yuma, besides, this means I get more time to hang out with you all!" Rei gave them a 'peace-out' sign as he strode closer to them. Hmm, there was that weird sensation again running through the air. He was tempted to try and get a more accurate reading via physical contact, but just before his hand could brush Yuma's shoulder, the other teen abruptly turned towards Kotori. _'Damn it, can you please just stop moving for one—'_

"Oy Shingetsu, you wanna head home with us?" Yuma was standing there with a curious glance, a quirk of a smile on his lips. Rei swallowed his irritation and gave a quick nod.

"Oh, that'd be great!" Drat. So much for his chance to figure out what happened to his card, but he figured it probably wasn't a big deal; after all, there was no drastic shift in energy and everyone seemed to be normal. Yuma and Kotori engaged in random small talk with Takashi and Cathy from time to time, but the group was mostly silent, their exhaustion tangible in the air. Takashi and Cathy split from the group at the crossroads, but Rei stayed until the next stoplight, wanting to try one last time to get an energy reading. He didn't dare try to use physical contact again, lest he lose their trust from being too touchy-feely, but as he edged closer to them at the corner, he could feel a distinct shift in the vibrations surrounding both of them. _'Well now, this is an interesting development...if I didn't know any better, I'd guess there was some sort of transfer going on, but I can't pinpoint the sources...'_ Unbeknownst to him, Astral was watching him intensely, wondering just what this new kid could be so interested in.

At the last minute, Rei managed to tear himself away from his trance-induced state and turn the last block that would lead to his hideout. "Heh heh, well, I had fun today, even if there was a lot of hard work involved. See you guys on Monday! Think positive everyone!" A quick grin and one peace sign later, Yuma and Kotori were by themselves, trudging the final stretch home.

"My god, I can't wait to take a shower and call it a week," Kotori groaned as they pulled themselves over the hill. Next to her, Yuma only had the energy left to muster a grunt in agreement.

"By the way...sorry if I was being, well, a moron earlier...I just didn't expect wearing your clothes to be so complicated." As soon he said this, he could practically feel Astral facepalming, and he realized his mistake. "I-I mean, wait, that came out wrong—I meant, I wasn't expecting to attract that much...attention...n-not that your clothes are ugly, or that there's anything wrong with being a girl," he hastily added before he could incur Kotori's wrath.

"...It's fine, don't worry about it. It was a long day all around," his girlfriend mumbled, not wanting to expand the energy to get into yet another argument. It was pointless, now that she thought about it; it wasn't like Yuma could suddenly turn into a girl and experience what she had to deal with on a daily basis, nor could she magically become a boy and take his place.

_[Kotori. Do you have a moment?]_ Astral's voice startled her out of her thoughts. It wasn't often that Astral spoke to her, much less telepathically. Something instinctively told her that this would be important, especially if Astral was consulting her thoughts first without bothering to include Yuma.

[Uh y-yeah, what's going on, Astral? Why isn't Yuma part of this?]

_[...I wished to discuss my opinion with you first, before approaching him. I am afraid it might be a rather sensitive subject for Yuma.] _

This certainly got her attention. [Oh...well, what is it? I promise I won't say anything to Yuma until you want me to.] She was curious as to what Astral would only want to speak to her about, instead of Yuma.

Astral gave a slight nod of appreciation. _[Thank you, Kotori. It is about that new student, Rei Shingetsu... While he does not appear outwardly...suspicious, he does strike me as rather unusual. Especially his attraction to Yuma; there seems to be more than just admiration for his dueling skills involved, but I am not sure what else it could be...]_

Kotori nearly choked at Astral's blasé description of Rei, but she caught herself in time. [Wait a minute, are you suggesting he..._likes_ likes Yuma?]

_[Perhaps, but that was not the impression I had. Unless male-male attraction requires a different set of behavior than that of male-female?]_

[No. Nonono, I...you're right, I don't think it's that either...at least, I hope it isn't that. You don't...you don't think he's after something, do you?] She hated being so paranoid and suspicious of anything remotely duel-related, but ever since the Numbers had become a larger presence in their lives, she'd learned that it was far better to be safe than to be sorry later on.

A slight twinge on his face confirmed her suspicions. _[I would hope not; he seems pretty innocuous for now, and I trust Yuma to have enough sense to know when something is wrong.]_ At this, Kotori raised one slim eyebrow in disbelief.

_[...Well, I will be with him, in any case. Besides, I would hate for Yuma to have to investigate his new friend.]_

[So, I assume you want to keep this between us for now?]

_[Yes; for now, anyway. I think I need more observations before approaching Yuma with a concrete perspective. I appreciate your words, Kotori.]_ The alien smiled just slightly at her, which caught the attention of Yuma.

"Huh, something funny, Astral? You've been pretty quiet," The boy finally spoke up as they neared Kotori's house.

"_No, I was simply musing over today's events. It was a wonderful learning experience."_

"Yeah, I'll bet," Yuma huffed under his breath. If making a fool of himself was what it took to get into Kaibaland, then so be it, but if not...well, he'd rather not think of the latter at the moment.

"Well, look on the bright side Yuma, it's the weekend now, and I'm sure Mr. Kitano will have good news for us on Monday," Kotori attempted to cheer her best friend/boyfriend up, given his surly expression. "You can give the dress back on Monday after it's been washed...which you are going to, right?"

"Yeah yeah, relax, I'm doing laundry as soon as I get home," Yuma rolled his eyes; sometimes he wondered if she cared more about her appearance than his feelings, but those thoughts were quashed as she suddenly enveloped him in a tight hug. "Er...Kotori?"

"...Personally, I think of all the hair-brained schemes you've come up with, this one was probably the craziest, but you did a good job. I'm happy for you..."

"Th...thanks, Kotori. I'm just glad to know that you'll always have my back, no matter what."

The girl twirled her hair absently, something she did whenever Yuma's words caught her off-guard. "W-well, of course, silly! Oh, and of course, I'll wash your uniform too. I'll try and get to you by Sunday latest, so you can have it for Monday." She lingered for only a moment longer, before waving goodbye and opening the door.

– – – – – –

The first thing that greeted him when the door opened was a bright flash. Yuma scowled and covered his eyes, wondering who was taking paparazzi shots of him now. "Hey! What gives?!"

"Sorry Yuma, but you know I just have to get this once-in-a-lifetime shot on film!" Akari smirked as she checked her shots. "You know how Grandma's on that cruise right now, and I bet she'd just love to hear all about your event when she gets back. I'm just making sure we've got the visuals to go along with the story."

"What the—don't you dare show anyone those photos!" He took a threatening step towards his sister, but she merely dodged to the side.

"Oh come on Yuma, it's just Grandma, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one with pics of you guys," Yuma's scowl darkened further as he realized she was probably right, "just a few shots, and I promise I'll leave you alone. Now, how about giving me one with an actual smile this time?"

He forced her to stop after the fifth shot, claiming he had to take a bath and wash all his clothes, including the dress he borrowed from Kotori. Truth be told, he was rather grateful that Akari took pity on him and volunteered to sort all the laundry, since if it were up to him, he'd probably end up returning a blue dress instead of a pink one. As soon as the tub was filled, he stepped into the steaming water with a sigh of relief. "Man, I thought this day would never end..."

"_But now that it has, are you not glad that you decided to go for it?"_ Yuma instinctively ducked under the water as Astral's voice floated through the air.

"Astral! I thought I told you not to come in while I'm in the bathroom!" He hissed angrily, attempting in vain to cover himself up, although the steam was pretty thick.

"_Kotori has kindly informed me that nothing ill would happen to you should I appear in the bathroom, except maybe for extreme embarrassment." _By some miracle Astral was facing away from him, so he wasn't looking directly at Yuma, but that didn't stop him from being embarrassed as all hell. _"Besides, it is not as if I am unfamiliar with nudity."_

"Just—agh, you know what, fine, if you wanna stick around, be my guest," Yuma threw his hands up in disgust, having completely given up on trying to shoo Astral out. As long as he kept his back turned, he supposed it was a bearable situation...

Dinner was a rather subdued affair that night. Akari, while not completely incompetent with housework, was not used to preparing an entire meal by herself, and so instead of the usual feast that awaited them every night, there was only a pot of curry and some rice. "Sorry, but it's one of the few dishes that I can make quickly, and it lasts a long time," she smiled sheepishly as Yuma sat down. He was too tired and hungry to care though, and as soon as he piled the dishes into the sink, he made a beeline for his attic and flopped haphazardly onto the hammock. When Akari came up to check on him a half hour later, he was already snoring.

Astral, too, was about to retire into the key for some rest himself when he noticed Yuma's deckholder glowing faintly. At the same instant, the key flashed brightly, and Astral could not figure out what happened next.

* * *

"Mmmm...why aren't the curtains ever closed..."

"_Yuma. Yuma, are you awake?"_ The voice was urgent, from the sound of it. But why, Yuma wasn't sure...after all, it was Saturday, wasn't it? No need to get up early for school.

"Whassit..."

"_You need to wake up. There is a...matter...of great urgency."_

"Astral, it's Saturday."

"_I am well aware of that. But I think this situation cannot wait." _Astral voice was odd, as if he was very concerned about something but didn't know how to express it yet. The thought 'Numbers' popped into Yuma's mind, and a sudden burst of adrenaline made itself known. Astral was glancing at the deck suspiciously, but refusing to make eye contact.

"What's wrong, is there a Number on the loose?" Wait a minute, who just said that? "Wh-who's there?"

"_There is no one else here, Yuma."_ Again he was pointedly not looking at Yuma. The room was very tense all of a sudden.

"...Astral...there's...there's something wrong with me, isn't there?" The voice was pitched too high, even for a state of panic, and Yuma dreaded the answer.

The alien visibly flinched at this statement. _"...In a manner of speaking. Yuma, you...may want to prepare yourself...before you look in the mirror..."_

The walk to the bathroom never seemed so long nor arduous. Out of sheer luck, Akari had to make an early-morning stop at the news station, so the house was empty. Gulping, Yuma pushed open the door and switched on the lights. Astral peered in cautiously, afraid of Yuma's reaction.

Silence. Then...

"What the...no, nonono, this can't be happening...I'm still dreaming, yup, that's it, th-this is just some messed up, nightmare, I just gotta wake up—ouch—okay crap, I guess I'm awake, but how, what..." It couldn't be, it just couldn't be true, especially after what happened yesterday, but still, the proof was staring right back at him.

Or rather, _her._

"Oh. My. Fucking." Yuma was very, very close to just losing it and running around screaming in sheer terror and disbelief. For although still disheveled, the image was pretty clearly feminine. As in, with round cheeks and a narrow waist and..._boobs_...and... The hand that was groping around down there was not exactly feeling anything either... A single shock of pure terror ran down his (her?) spine.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!"

Although he had mentally prepared himself, there was nothing like the shock of actually hearing it. Astral cringed uncontrollably as Yuma ran out of the bathroom, into his room, then downstairs again, screaming at the top of her lungs all the while. Thank god nobody was currently at home. Coming to his senses, he realized he should probably stop Yuma before the poor guy/girl (Astral was not sure of gender in a situation like this) did something stupid.

"_Yuma! Yuma, please, you need to calm down!" _Astral floated helplessly above Yuma as the girl continued to pace (albeit in the attic now).

"Calm? Calm?! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO KEEP CALM WHEN I'M A FRICKIN' GIRL?!" She looked like she was about to tear her hair out, if necessary. "And how did this happen?! Was it the cards? It was, wasn't? It's gotta be the Numbers, weird stuff's been happening since day one, why shouldn't this be one of the—"

"—_That is likely, but we need to confirm first if anyone else was affected—"_

"—anyone else?! I can't exactly go around telling everyone what happened to me—"

"—_I was referring to Kotori and the rest of the Numbers Club, Yuma. Surely they of all people should be able to help you?"_ He intoned dryly, becoming just a tad fed up with Yuma's hysterics at this point.

The now-female screeched to halt right at the foot of the steps. "...Oh yeah, right." Astral would've fallen out of the air, if he had any mass, but as such he just sighed heavily into his palm.

"_Now, I would suggest calling Kotori first, and we can go from there."_

"R-right...just, let me find my d-gazer—" Yuma was still scrambling to put his/her mind back together, but with shaky hands she managed to dial the right number. At least, he hoped it was the right number, as nobody appeared to be answering the other line. She was just about to try again when the d-gazer rang this time, and Yuma nearly dropped the object in shock as she answered. "H-hello? Kotori, is that you?" Strange, why wasn't the video working? And the only thing coming through the audio receiver was some garbled-sounding mumbles. "Hello?"

"...Yu-Yuma, are you there?"

"Err, yes? This is Kotori, right?" The voice sounded oddly husky, as if she had a cold or something. Yuma wondered for a second if she had gotten sick from the stress of yesterday. "Are you feeling all right? You sound sick."

"—Uh, well, I was just about to ask you the same question...you sound a little, er, different..."

Yuma gulped nervously. How in the hell do you tell your girlfriend that you went to bed, and then woke up as the completely opposite gender? "Th...that's because...well...y-you know, it's funny that you would mention that because...hey, why isn't your video on? Is something wrong with your d-gazer?"

Something sounding suspiciously like a nervous intake of breath came through the speaker. "...O-oh, ah, well, not exactly..." A stretch of awkward silence followed. Then, "...Yuma, I know this is going to sound incredibly strange, but just trust me, all right?"

"O-okay, you know I'd never doubt you, Kotori." The situation was not sounding very promising, and Yuma had a sinking feeling why.

"You have to promise me that you _will not_ throw a fit or go crazy when I turn the video feed on, okay?"

"I promise."

The screen icon blinked on as a video connection was established. And at that moment Yuma started shrieking and panicking again even though she had already promised not to, despite what had happened already this morning. On the screen, Kotori's face was at first annoyed, but then quickly turned into one of disbelief and concern as Yuma's face came into focus.

"It-it can't be—no way, I was just about to ask you—"

"—well I hate to break it to you but you're about ten minutes too late to be the first—"

"—what about the others, Testuo and Shark, have you contacted them at all or—"

"Are you crazy?! I just woke up like this a few minutes ago and I've barely been able to think straight since, what makes you think I've actually got a plan or anything?!" Yuma hissed, still trying to absorb the fact that Kotori was no longer a sweet cherub-faced girl, but a handsome, only slightly-feminine looking boy. The boyish face looked taken-aback at the sudden outburst.

"Well, all right Yuma, geeze, just calm down, okay?! I just wanted to know what the situation was, I didn't say you had to have all the answers already," he answered a little peevishly. Boy or girl, it seemed that Yuma's spastic behavior was one thing that hadn't changed. "Look, just...just keep calm, I'll get over as soon as I can. Lucky for you my mom went out early this morning. Is anyone at your house?"

"No, Akari's over at the news station until afternoon I think, and Grandma's still on vacation."

"Okay. Okay, uh, just sit tight and we'll figure this out. Astral, keep an eye on Yuma 'til I get there." Yuma scowled at this, but Astral simply nodded in acknowledgement.

"_...Well, I suppose that answers our question of whether or not anyone else was affected."_

* * *

**A/N:** I've been inactive for a long time. I know. ***gross sobbing ensues* **But I finally managed to have some time again so I'll be working my way back up the fics and such. Tbh I am very behind on ZEXAL, and given that I follow what airs in the US anyway, I don't know much about Rei/Vector/the Barians aside from what I've seen around the web, so I'm trying to keep their portrayals and goals as similar to the show as I can, but for the sake of this story's plot and humor, I've also made Rei in particular just more on the derpy side than he might originally be.


End file.
